


The College Years

by ShotOfPatron



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: College Years, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-25 05:45:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14970365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShotOfPatron/pseuds/ShotOfPatron
Summary: A series of fluffy ficlets of Matt and Foggy's college years.





	1. Coffee and Co-eds

**Author's Note:**

> Dear Readers,   
> The world is shit. Here's some fluff. I keep trying to log into my Google Drive to update my long-overdue story that has an actual plot and such, but my Google Drive keeps sending me to these little snippets that I wrote long ago when I was incredibly depressed and using fandom as a way to escape from the reality of everyday life.   
> So... Maybe sharing these with everybody will help others forget the outside world, if only for a little while.

"This, my friend, is the source of life." Foggy said as he led his new roommate into the coffee shop. 

"Are you referring to the coffee or the customers?" Matt asked. He took a deep breath and listened for a moment. The place wasn't too crowded. The few conversations were similar to what he heard all over campus, those awkward get-to-know-you conversations between people from all over the world. 

"The coffee. I'm not seeing the beautiful ladies that were hanging out when I came on my tour last spring. You think they planted them in order to recruit me and my dizzying intellect?" 

Matt nodded. "I think that's very likely. You still want coffee?" 

"Definitely," Foggy replied. He stepped toward the counter. 

Matt swung his cane to follow, gently tapping the leg of a woman sitting in a chair to his left. "Sorry," he said to her, with a smile.

"Oh, um, that's okay!" She replied. Her voice surprised Matt by being shrill. Too bad, because she smelled nice. 

Matt heard Foggy gasp before he bounced back to his side. "Oh, God, sorry, man. I didn't think-"

"It's okay, Foggy. It's not the first time I've whacked a lady's leg getting oriented in a small space." Matt added a smirk and immediately sensed Foggy's relief, while the girl giggled.

Yeah, Matt definitely didn't enjoy that giggle, which was good, because he needed to concentrate on his studies.

"Uh, okay. Um. I don't know what to do. Like outside?" Foggy asked.

Matt had quickly shown Foggy how to offer his elbow as they walked across campus earlier, and they were both surprised at how natural it felt, two virtual strangers leading and being led. 

Matt navigated around the table. "Sure," he said, almost immediately feeling Foggy brush his hand on his. 

There were a couple of people in line ahead of them, so Matt took a breath to smell the selection. Beyond the overwhelming smell of coffee were the light flavors of tea. The milk products weren't organic, but they were all fresh. 

Of course, he couldn't let Foggy in on the fact he already knew all this. "So what's the selection?" Matt asked. 

"They've got everything, buddy. The menu takes up most of the wall. Um, you have any preferences?" 

"Tea?" Matt asked. 

"Yeah, like, ten varieties." 

"I thought tea was just tea." Matt lied. 

"I'm a coffee drinker, I have no idea about these things." Foggy replied. "And we're up." Foggy explained, moving to the cash register. 

"I'll have the grande mocha. Matt? First round's on me." 

"Um, a small tea?" Matt said. 

"What kind?" The man behind the counter asked. 

"Something light and low in caffeine." Matt replied. 

Foggy paid for the drinks and led Matt to the other end of the counter. "Not a coffee drinker?" 

"Sometimes I am," Matt replied. "But the caffeine really gets to me, and I have a feeling it will be hard enough to sleep tonight as it is." 

"I don't snore that bad." Foggy said. 

Matt laughed. "I always have trouble sleeping in new places. Nothing personal, I promise." 

"No offense taken. Though if you keep me up all night sawing logs, you're buying breakfast to make up for it." 

"We'll work something out." Matt replied. 

The barista called out Foggy's name and he jumped up to grab both of their drinks. Matt smiled. There were very few people that he had met who were as honest as Foggy. This could actually turn into a friendship, but Matt didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Here you go," Foggy said, sitting the cup in front of Matt. "You want any sugar or whatever?"

Matt ran his hand across the table until he found the drink. It smelled good. "No, thanks." 

Matt could tell Foggy was staring at him and starting to get nervous, but Matt had learned how to put people at ease. 

"So, what are you studying, other than Punjabi?"

"Criminal justice major." Foggy replied. 

"Law enforcement?" Matt asked.

"Just the law." Foggy explained. 

"Cool. I'm hoping to be an attorney, as well." 

"Really? This is so perfect! We can share notes and stuff." 

"I probably can't read your handwriting." Matt said. 

Foggy stared at him a moment. "Oh, right, yeah, I guess that's... How do you..." Foggy quickly gathered his thoughts. "I don't know anything about, like, being blind, man." 

Matt laughed. "Well hopefully I'm the only one that needs to actually be blind. You'll see how I manage, soon enough. I'll show you some things back at the room."

"Cool. Just tell me what I can do to help. You've already helped me get the attention of that hot chick you whacked on the way in."

"She was hot?" Matt asked. 

"Cute might be a better word for it. You should have played wounded duck a little more and I bet she'd come help you unpack."

Matt shrugged. "I don't have much stuff and I'm just trying to focus on school right now." 

"Can't focus on school all the time, buddy."

"I can try." Matt replied raising his eyebrows. 

"That kind of focus isn't good for your soul, Matt. You have to live a little." 

"I'll find balance, I promise. I just have to keep my grades up, since I'm here on scholarships." 

"Oh. Yeah. I wouldn't want to get in the way of that." 

"I couldn't afford to be here without them." Matt explained.

"You didn't get some huge settlement from the company responsible for your accident?" 

"No." 

"That's not right. Some company ruins your life like this, they should be held accountable." 

"It's not ruined." Matt said. 

"What?"

"It's different, but I don't consider the accident as ruining my life." Matt shrugged. "In some ways, I feel kind of lucky." 

"Lucky to be blind?" 

Matt could hear the disbelief in Foggy's voice. "Lucky to not be dead." 

"Yeah, well, there's more to life than just being alive." Foggy said. "But no matter how you look at what happened, it seems like that company should have paid. Is that why you're interested in law? Get back at these big corporations?" 

"No, just fighting the fight in my own way." Matt said. 

"Yeah, fighting the fight." Foggy sipped on his drink. 

"My dad was a boxer. He never wanted me to be a fighter like him." 

"That's awesome. What does he do now?" 

"He um, he died a while ago." Matt explained.

"Oh, crap, man. Sorry. So it was just you and your mom?" 

"I don't remember my mother." Matt said. 

"Wow," Foggy said, dropping into an uncomfortable silence.

"I guess the 'wounded duck' thing takes a new turn with foster homes and the orphanage." Matt said. 

"Do you have any happy stories?" Foggy asked.

Matt laughed. "Full-ride to Columbia." 

"I don't think that's enough to make me jealous, but I'm excited about where it could go. Only good things from now on, okay?" 

Matt smiled. Maybe good things were possible.


	2. Family Dinner

Matt had been at the library studying all morning. He had only been at Columbia for a few weeks, but the library was already one of his favorite places. It was quietest in the early mornings, and he wouldn’t disturb Foggy, who rarely got up before 10:00 on the weekends.

As he walked back to his room, it sounded more lively than normal. For a moment, he doubted that he was at the right place, but among the crowd of voices he heard Foggy.

The voices didn't change when he opened the door.

"...and Theresa said that I'm supposed to tell you all about George's new store, in case any of your classmates-"

"Matt!" Foggy interrupted the woman's voice. "You're back."

The room went silent as the people in the room noticed Foggy's roommate, still standing at the door. "I can go back out..." Matt offered.

"Oh no! Definitely not. We were just picking up Foggy for a family dinner." The same woman's voice explained.

"Matt, this is my family. I forgot they were invading today or I would have warned you."

"That's okay," Matt said, forcing a smile. "Just thought I was at the wrong door for a moment."

Foggy moved across the room to his friend that was looking a bit overwhelmed. "Sorry." He said, sincerely.

Matt turned his head toward his roommate, as though they were alone in the room. "Did you tell them I'm blind, or are they just figuring that out right now?"

"Definitely the latter." Foggy replied.

Matt let the smile spread a little bit wider and looked up toward the room. "Well it's nice to finally meet the Nelson family. I've heard so much about you."

"I'm sure none of it was good." A younger girl's voice responded.

"That's Candace, my sister." Foggy explained.

"I'm so sorry, where are our manners?" Foggy's mom spoke up. "I'm Anna, and my husband here is Edward. We didn't mean to intrude, just wanted to check to make sure Foggy was taking care of himself."

"He's doing just fine Mrs. Nelson."

"Have you always been blind?" Candace asked.

Anna turned bright red and glared at her daughter as she spoke. "Sweetie that's not-"

"It's okay." Matt interrupted. "I could see until I was nine."

"You guys remember that kid that got blinded when saving that old man?" Foggy asked, while pointing to Matt.

Foggy's parents' eyes lit up. "That was you?" Asked his father.

Matt started to blush. "Um, yeah."

"It's a great story, Matt. Don't hide from it."

"I'm not hiding from it, it's just no big deal."

"You keep saying that, but it is. You should just accept it. It might not be too late to get a book deal."

"Matt, you look as though you haven't had a decent meal in ages." Anna observed. "Come to dinner with us."

"Oh, no, I couldn't intrude..."

"It wouldn't be intruding at all. You can let us in on whatever Foggy isn't telling us."

"I have an exam in the morning and really need-" Matt argued.

"You've hidden from the world studying for that exam for a week." Foggy said. "It would be good for you to have a change in scenery every now and then and mom is cooking."

"I made enough meatballs for an army. It's no trouble."

"Meatballs, Matt. Meatballs. How can you say no to meatballs?" Foggy asked.

Matt took a moment to observe the Nelson family in his own way. They were sincere and honest, just like Foggy. The smell of the meal that Anna had prepared lingered on her clothes. She had used simple spices, nothing fancy and unnecessarily complicated. It was a much more carefully crafted meal that what he had been living on from the dining hall. He relaxed and gave in. "Okay. I'm in. Just, give me a moment to freshen up."

Matt gathered some things and slipped into the bathroom that they shared with four other guys. He could hear the Nelsons grilling Foggy about him.

"I guess that's why you are keeping your stuff so neat." His mom said.

"Well I don't want a pair of dirty bluejeans on the floor to be the reason my roommate face-plants." Foggy replied.

"That's considerate of you, son." His father replied. "All this isn't distracting you from your studies, is it?"

"Why would it distract me?" Foggy asked.

"Just, if you're having to take care of somebody like that..."

"Trust me. Matt doesn't need any taking care of. He's been a good influence."

Matt was used to hearing the way people talked about him when he should have been out of earshot. He had yet to hear Foggy say anything that he wouldn't expect the man to say to his face. That was rare.

The whole family walked to the nearest subway station and rode to the stop near the Nelson household. Foggy was nervous, and as a result narrated everything along the way. Matt found it amusing, and helpful.

"Do you navigate the subway on your own, Matt?" Foggy's father asked as they walked down the street.

"I don't usually have much reason to, but if I do, I can manage. Just have to count the stops, since I can't always trust the announcements."

“Do you go home often?” Anna asked.

“I haven’t been back to Hell’s Kitchen since school started.”

“Should you go visit your family while you are on this side of town?”

“I, uh-”

“His family moved away recently. To… Nebraska.” Foggy interrupted.

“And by that, Foggy means I’m an orphan.” Matt had to lie about so much, so when he didn’t have to, he didn’t want to.

He could hear the change in everybody’s breathing, the change in their pulse. Everybody except Foggy.

“Should have stuck with Nebraska.” Foggy said with a sing-song voice. “Now they are looking at you like you’re an alien. They didn’t even do that when they figured out you were blind.”

“I’m not an alien.” Matt joked.

“I don’t know, I’ve seen you do things…”

Matt felt his pulse race, momentarily thinking that Foggy had seen him do something more impressive than sorting laundry. Then again, Matt was in awe that Foggy was capable of folding laundry, when he finally got around to it.

Soon enough, Matt followed Foggy’s elbow into the small home of the Nelson family. It reminded Matt of the apartment he lived in with his father. While the Nelson household had the lingering scents of home-cooked foods, and Matt’s home always had a tint of sweat, the place had a feeling of home.

“Matthew, would you like a beer?” Edward asked.

“No, thank you.” Matt responded.

“Are you sure?” Foggy asked. “I’m having one.”

"I'm not really...." Matt conceded.

"Don't worry, Matthew. I'll make you something better than the horse-piss these men drink.”  

"Mom!" Foggy whined. "This is quality beer. There's nothing like this at the campus keggers."

"You boys have been going to keggers?" Edward asked.

"I haven't gone to any keggers, Mr. Nelson." Matt answered.

"But you will, and the beer will be nasty." Foggy said.

"Here you go, Matthew." Anna said, holding out a glass.

Matt looked toward her. "Hm?"

"She's got a glass of something that looks mostly like whiskey." Foggy explained.

"Oh," Matt gave a crooked smile and lifted his hand.

"Now you touch the back of his hand with the glass." Foggy instructed his mother, who quickly obliged.

Matt took the cold glass and sniffed the contents. "Thank you, Mrs. Nelson."

"Now she's staring at you, like you're the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. It’s making me a bit uncomfortable, really."

"Foggy!" His mom exclaimed. Her face flushed slightly as she changed the subject. "Dinner will be in about twenty minutes. Make yourselves at home."

"Come on. I'll show you my old bedroom. Just don't tease me about the posters up on the wall."

"I promise." Matt said, seriously.

Foggy brushed Matt's hand and and carefully led him through the tight space to a closed door. Foggy pushed the door open and gasped.

"No, no, no no no!" He ran around the room while Matt stood in the doorway with  one eyebrow raised. "One second, Matt." He said, brushing past to get to the living room.

"What happened to my stuff?"

"We cleaned up a little, but your stuff is still there."

"No it's not, you took my posters off the wall, my figurines aren't on the shelf."

"They are all in the closet. I just cleaned up a little."

Matt listened to Foggy and his mother, hearing the real pain in Foggy's tone. Meanwhile, he explored Foggy's room on his own, knowing that this clean, clear space wasn't what his friend had left behind. He sipped the whiskey, feeling the burn as it hit his stomach.

"This was totally un-cool." Foggy said, popping back into the room to find Matt running his fingers over a clear bookshelf.

"Are there traps?” Matt asked.

“Nope. Mom packed them all away. Evidently she didn’t appreciate my design aesthetic. You should be finding my historically accurate dinosaur figurines along that shelf.”

Matt shrugged. He ran his fingers over the comforter on the bed. He had only drank about half of whatever Foggy's mom had given him, but it was already affecting his senses.

"Your family seems nice."

"Thanks. I know this isn't how you planned to spend your evening, but I’m glad you came.”

Matt sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a home-cooked meal.”

Foggy wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard Matt’s voice catch at the comment.

 


End file.
